India announces Asia Cup 2025 squad; Shreyas Iyer misses out despite IPL heroics

BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar on Tuesday announced India’s 15-member squad for the Asia Cup 2025. The big talking point was the absence of Shreyas Iyer, who had just finished an outstanding IPL season, scoring heavily and leading Punjab Kings to the final.

The selectors chose Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, and Shivam Dube to support captain Suryakumar Yadav in the middle order, leaving no space for Iyer. His last T20I was in December 2023, when he scored a half-century against Australia. He had also missed the 2024 T20 World Cup despite leading Kolkata Knight Riders to the IPL title.

Agarkar explained that leaving Iyer out was not about performance. “With regards to Shreyas, I mean, you need to tell him who he can replace. No fault of his, nor is it ours. It’s just that we have to pick 15 at the moment; he’ll have to wait for his chance,” he said.

Iyer has been in strong form across formats. Earlier this year, he returned to the ODI side during the England series and played a key role in India’s Champions Trophy win. He was India’s top scorer in the tournament with 243 runs in five innings, including two fifties.

In the IPL, he continued to shine. Leading Punjab Kings, Iyer scored 604 runs in 17 matches at an average of 50.33 and a strike rate of 175.07, with six half-centuries. His efforts took the team to their first final since 2014, though they fell short by six runs against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

India will start their Asia Cup campaign against hosts UAE on September 10 in Dubai, face Pakistan on September 14 at the same venue, and then play Oman on September 19 in Abu Dhabi.